When George Lucas introduced the public to a galaxy far, far away, he could have never imagined that his intrepid space film would launch dozens of follow-up films, television shows, cartoons, and casino games. The third season of The Mandalorian is due in 2022 and Rogue Squadron will be the next Star Wars movie due to premiere in December 2023.
The Star Wars universe blends ancient and modern in its engaging stories. The Jedi masters are based on Japan’s Samurai warriors, whilst Casino Bight was based on the glamorous casinos of Monte Carlo even though most bettors today enjoy promotion-packed online casino platforms like Miami Club Casino. Star Wars has many gambling-related scenes involving Han Solo and Lando Calrissian as card sharks as well as games similar to Blackjack and Poker.
Card Games in the Star Wars universe
Sabacc is a key feature in Star Wars storylines and is played across the universe. This is a high-stakes card game where each player aims for a hand ranking as close to 23 as possible, but without going over it and is a game recognizable as being like Blackjack.
The game starts with each player being dealt two cards and includes strategies and skills needed in Poker since suits, hands and special cards all need to be considered. The best hands are not just 23, but also minus 23 and a full house as in poker which is known as the Idiot.
Key Gambling Scenes in Star Wars
Sabacc and the Millennium Falcon
Sabacc was first played in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back but was simplified with a smaller deck of cards for the prequel movie Solo: A Star Story in a variant called Corellian Spike.
Lando Calrissian is a legendary gambler who won his ship in a game of Sabacc. Han Solo decides to challenge Lando in a game. Hans stakes his own ship, the VCX-100 against Lando’s YT-1300. Lando wins, but Han is sure that he cheated in the game.
Han and Chewbacca later see Lando playing Sabacc with others and notice he has a card hidden up his sleeve. Han buys into the game and when he and Lando are the last two players, Han calls for Lando to show his cards having already swiped the card that was up Lando’s sleeve. Having failed the first time, Han and Chewie leave in the Millennium Falcon.
Casinos in Star Wars
Canto Casino
First seen in Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, Canto Casino is located at Canto Bight, a coastal city on the desert planet Cantonica.
In The Last Jedi, Finn and Rose are in one of Casino Bight’s casinos trying to escape a host of dreadful creatures including Slowen Lo. Other casinos in the franchise are Balance Casino on Reaper’s World, Aerie Casino on Naboo, and Club Vertica Casino on Nar Shaddaa.
